BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: (July 30, 2024); St. Louis Public Radio; "Christopher Dunn is a free man after 34 years in prison for a murder he did not commit."..."Dunn was convicted in the 1990 murder of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers in the city's Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood. And his conviction was largely based on the testimony of two boys, ages 12 and 14, who later recanted their statements." "The fight for his freedom has been going on for years. In 2020, Circuit Court Judge William Hickle found that a jury would likely find Dunn not guilty based on new evidence, but the judge declined to order Dunn’s release citing a 2016 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that only people on death row can make a freestanding claim of actual innocence. A new state law took effect in 2021 that allows prosecutors to file petitions when they believe an innocent person is imprisoned. Gore asked the court in February to vacate Dunn’s conviction, which ultimately led to Sengheiser overturning the sentence last week due to a lack of evidence. (Attorney General) Bailey similarly fought against the release of Sandra Hemme, who spent 43 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a St. Joseph, Mo., woman in 1980. The judge in that case cited evidence of "actual innocence" on June 14 and ordered her release. Bailey's appeals all the way to the state supreme court kept her imprisoned at the Chillicothe Correctional Center until July 19."
https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/7334788182253094501
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We are perplexed and confused and a little frightened,” Kira Dunn, Christopher’s wife, said after the hearing. “Why is this still happening after two judges and two prosecutors have verified and supported his innocence."
------------------------------
MORE QUOTES OF THE DAY: "Attorney Booker Shaw defended the Circuit Attorney’s Office intervention on behalf of Dunn. “Christopher Dunn spent 34 years of his life in prison based solely on the discredited and recanted testimony of two kids, aged 12 and 14 years old,” Shaw told the judges. “There are large implications,” Kenya Brumfield-Young, a SLU associate professor of criminology, said. Young fears this fight could slow other investigations into innocence claims. “It’s going to be more arduous, I think, than it already has been,” she said."
------------------------------
FINAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Brumfield-Young says it includes cases featured on FOX 2, like Bertha Owens – in prison for murder even though the sole eyewitness recanted. And Curtis Scott Hansen, who must register as a sex offender despite every alleged victim saying repeatedly they were forced to lie about him by a family services caseworker who turned out to be a felon.“This is going to determine how their cases are reviewed,” Brumfield-Young said."
------------------------------
------------------------------
STORY: "Court fight could send freed man back to prison," by Reporter Chris Hayes published by FOX2 News on February 26, 2026..."Chris’ investigative work continues to be recognized through his tenure at Fox 2 KTVI where he’s been awarded an additional 11 Regional Emmys, including the “Investigative Report” honor in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, he was awarded the investigative Emmy for his report on the David Cerna camera cop case. His investigation triggered the discovery, capture and arrest of a Chesterfield Police officer secretly recording video in a men’s restroom. In 2014, he won the investigative Emmy for another story that later garnered national attention – the Betsy Faria Murder case. Hayes’ in depth investigation exposed new evidence, leading to a new trial and exoneration of Russ Faria, Betsy’s husband." Chris has also won two regional Murrow Awards for his coverage of “Minority Contracting and Alleged Front Companies” in 2013 and “The Murder of Betsy Faria” in 2015."
GIST. "A court fight in a case that freed a Missouri man could now change how innocence claims are handled in court.
It involves Christopher Dunn’s 2024 release from prison, which the Missouri Attorney General’s Office is now challenging.
The court fight unfolded in a hearing Thursday that was packed with 300 observers. It was in a special courtroom on the top floor of Saint Louis University School of Law.
A panel of three Missouri Appeals Court judges listened to arguments that could return a free man to prison.
Dunn was freed from prison after the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office asked a judge to review the recantations of two eyewitnesses. A Circuit Court judge then vacated Dunn’s 1991 conviction for a fatal shooting, in which Dunn served more than 30 years.
“We are perplexed and confused and a little frightened,” Kira Dunn, Christopher’s wife, said after the hearing. “Why is this still happening after two judges and two prosecutors have verified and supported his innocence?”
In court, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Clarke questioned the credibility of one witness’ recanted testimony.
“He recanted in part because he felt threatened; times had changed,” Clarke said. “He thought Dunn had done enough time, but then Dunn knew what he did and God knew what Dunn did.”
Attorney Booker Shaw defended the Circuit Attorney’s Office intervention on behalf of Dunn.
“Christopher Dunn spent 34 years of his life in prison based solely on the discredited and recanted testimony of two kids, aged 12 and 14 years old,” Shaw told the judges.
“There are large implications,” Kenya Brumfield-Young, a SLU associate professor of criminology, said.
Young fears this fight could slow other investigations into innocence claims.
“It’s going to be more arduous, I think, than it already has been,” she said.
Brumfield-Young says it includes cases featured on FOX 2, like Bertha Owens – in prison for murder even though the sole eyewitness recanted. And Curtis Scott Hansen, who must register as a sex offender despite every alleged victim saying repeatedly they were forced to lie about him by a family services caseworker who turned out to be a felon.
“This is going to determine how their cases are reviewed,” Brumfield-Young said.
Both the Circuit Attorney’s Office and Missouri Attorney General’s Office said they would not comment outside of court until the appeals court rules, which could be months away.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://fox2now.com/news/fox-
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;“The cloud hasn’t dissipated, and we’re still actually waiting for an outcome to know that Chris can fully live as a free man,” Kira Dunn said.
